Dance
by ThuhGamefreak
Summary: As the war of the stones continues, Tethys realizes that war is much worst than anyone could have ever expected. Fire Emblem 8, Death Fic. Rated for blood, gore, and descriptive violence. No swearing, shonen or sex.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Gamefreak. This is my first fanfic ever submitted, and I want **_HONEST _**feedback and reviews. Be specific in your recommendations. Please.

I updated my story because it has so many obvious mistakes. Please, **_PLEASE _**review.

This is basically a death-fic of Tethys's life during the war of the stones. Rated T for descriptive violence. No sex, no swearing, no shonen. That crap makes me want to barf.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem or anything related. Too bad.

Dance

Chapter One: Tethys

The woman saw the bolt of darkness coming, but it was too late. Pain erupted from the woman's every pore, and a feeling of pure evil coursed through her fragile, petite body, driving her to her knees. Immediately, a chant ending with the word "mend" could be heard over the repugnant din of battle, and the shrill death-dry of gorgons as their blood pored into the magma-filled crevices of Mount Neleras.

"Lute, thank you for that. Shadowshot can take a lot out of you," thanked the woman.

The powerful Mage Knight answered, "It was wonderful to be of assistance to you, Lady Tethys. Would you please dance for me? Lord Ephraim and Lady Eirika want these gorgon eggs destroyed as soon as possible,"

"Gladly," replied Tethys. She conjured the memories of the dancer she had seen and looked up to in her youth, and began a dance. This particular dance was a tribute to the horrors and tragedy of war. As she danced, she thought of the wound she had received. Normally, Ewan and Gerik would have abandoned their tasks and ran halfway across the battlefield to protect her if she ever got so much as a paper cut. She told herself it was utterly ridiculous and quite silly, but in truth she was unused to people really and truly caring about her. After being abandoned by her own parents… her thoughts were interrupted as a gargoyle thrust a marred zanbatou (1) at her neck. She simply leaned over slightly, avoiding the weapon easily, and the monster was crushed under the frozen might of Lute's Fimbulvetr. Nearby, a ceasing of the constant purple flashes of Fenrir signaled that Ewan's units had finished off their group of eggs. The lack of homicidal gargoyles showed that Joshua, Gerik and Artur had succeeded in their assignment. Franz and Kyle were traveling all over the mountains, throwing the carcasses of baby gorgons over the cliff, where they were consumed by the same molten Hell they so longed to create. Blood literally flowed through the mountains, giving the area a rancid scent that could put a dog in a coma. Tethys turned her head in disgust, but all she saw was more blood, more gore, more corpses. War was … most unpleasant. Tethys felt sick. At least none of her comrades had died.

And that's my story. As I said before, please review. I won't update if I don't get any reviews. On a side note, this is the first of about seven chapters.

(1) By zanbatou, I mean the long staff with a blade for slashing at the end.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I only have four reviews so far, but here it is. This fanfic is also part romance, and it will be somewhere between five to ten chapters total. I realize the last chapter was **_way_** too short, and I am sorry. You're not listening anymore, are you? Everyone, please review! When a story's hits outnumber its reviews thirteen to one, you know something is screwy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem seven or eight. Crap.

Dance

Chapter Two: Ewan

_When will it end?_ was Ewan's only thought as he allowed the calming warmth of the campfire to wash over his fatigued body. Admiral Cormag, General Vanessa, Colonel Tana, and Lieutenant Syrene had returned to that there were no rivers nearby, so the entire camp would reek of gorgon blood until they could bathe. Ewan loved magic with all his heart, but he abhorred war. Knowing that every spell, every summoning, every _motion_, brought some poor creature closer to its demise. Being constantly sprayed with blood, gore, _organs_, and flesh every day. Walking toward a group of soldiers who had hopes, dreams, and lovers and leaving nothing but blackened corpses. It was terrible.

But as much as he hated the atrocities of war, he knew his sister was even more affected by the horrors around them. Ewan had always wondered why someone who loathed violence so much joined a mercenary guild. But he thought he knew the reason. It was a young man with green hair who wore purple. His thoughts were put on hold, however, as said person sat down by him. This surprised Ewan for two reasons. It appeared as though Gerik had read Ewan's thoughts, first of all. And generally, Gerik was a serious man who had no time for playful banter when there was a war going on around them. Ever since Ewan's, Amelia's, Ross's, and Cormag's promotions to Admirals of the new Renais army, Ewan had noticed that some people actually treated him with… respect. People still joked about having three fifteen-year-old officers in the army, but following his promotion, he had been showered with praise and advice. He wondered if this was one of those occasions.

"Ewan." Gerik said sharply.

"Hiya, Gerik! What's up?" the Summoner answered goofily. Gerik rolled his eyes. Ewan may have been a dangerous warrior with incredible power and an endless supply of phantoms, but he was still a child.

"Is something wrong with Tethys? She's been acting a little… odd lately."

"It's this war. She hates all the violence and blood."

"She's a mercenary! Well, anyway, maybe she should sit out the next battle. She looked really distraught when I saw her earlier. I asked her about it, but she just claimed she was fine. It was quite clear that she was lying, but it wasn't my business, so I didn't ask about it anymore. But she's looked really sickly lately, and I'm worried about her health.

"Any particular reason that you're worried about _her_ health?"

"Uh, no. What are you implying?"

"Oh, it's just that you always seem so concerned about her health. _Very _concerned.

"So? I like her. I really care about her."

"You mean you _love_ her?"

"**What? **No way! Ewan!"

"You wanna _hold_ her!"

"Stop!"

"Kiss her!"

"No!"

"You wanna bring her into your tent, take off your clothes, and-"

"**EWAN!"**

By now, Gerik's face was the shade of a ripe apple, but both young men were nearly crying with laughter. But it only lasted a few moments, as does happiness during a funeral. War had that grim effect on people, no matter what you were killing.

"So what was so funny?" a whimsical voice asked. Gerik and Ewan shot upright in surprise, and the owner of the voice appeared from the shadow of a tent and began laughing goofily.

"Joshua!" shouted Gerik angrily, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Commander," another voice said, one again scaring the young Jehanna warriors.

Marisa stepped out of the same shadow that Joshua had been hiding in, to his amazement and embarrassment, and strode toward Gerik.

"I have come to deliver a message. We renew our march at dawn tomorrow. We can't afford any delays on our way to Rausten Court. That is all." With that, the swordmaster spun around nimbly and disappeared into the shadows.

Joshua, who had just gotten over Marissa's stealthy approach, replied, "Well, that was fast."

"Always business and training, that's what Marissa is about. No time for people," claimed Ewan, imitating his teacher Saleh perfectly in both accent and manner.

As the mercenaries tiredly departed for their tents, they did not notice the redheaded woman hiding in the tent near which Joshua and Marissa had appeared. No one noticed the tears in her eyes. No one noticed the expression she had on her tired, sad face. And no one noticed her say, "He really does care about me. More than anyone has in my entire life…"

And there you have it, chapter two! I'm _so_ sorry that I haven't updated in a while, and to tell you the truth, I have no excuse for not doing so. I would like to thank Sara Jaye, Kusabi Makabe, Chaos Knight Malik, and Ted Toss64 for their inspiring reviews. I would also like to thank Brendan2k5, because from my profile I can see that my story is in your favorites, and there is no greater joy for me than seeing that people like my work. I take reasonable requests, too. I have lots of free time.


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